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GABA lozenge relieves excruciating pelvic floor/rectal pain and spasms within 30 seconds: a solution for proctalgia fugax

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Have you experienced excruciating pain in the rectum as a result of spasms in your anal sphincter? You may not even know this condition is called proctalgia fugax and you may struggle with the agonizing pelvic floor pain with no quick solution. You may also not get much help from your doctor because the management of proctalgia fugax remains challenging.

The good news is that there is a simple solution that eases the spasms and stops the pain very quickly, typically in less than 2 minutes and sometimes as quickly as 30 seconds. Ashlee discovered how quickly a GABA lozenge worked to give her immediate relief from her scary and excruciatingly painful spasms.

Here is Ashlee’s wonderful feedback on the blog I wrote on this topic a few years ago after this started happening to me:

I want to personally thank you for this article and option of GABA to relieve the excruciating pain I was having.

After research I realized that my pelvic floor was having spasms. Such a new and scary feeling to have been having, and finding your advice and immediate relief of GABA changed everything!

Of course the scariest part initially is the pain and the “what is happening feeling!” But it’s quickly followed up with “when will this happen again, where will I be, and what do I do in that situation?”

I would highly recommend the GABA lozenges which I got at the vitamin store down the street. I carry them in a little baggie with me now just in case an episode happens. I did have an episode happen when I was on site of a job, and thankfully had the GABA lozenge to immediately relieve the pain, literally (within 30 seconds!! INCREDIBLE!)

The option otherwise (and what I did when it first happened) was to soak in a warm bath or with a heating pad, which obviously is not an option if you are at work or not at home.

The other options as suggested online are even scarier… resorting to electric shock up the rectum to ease the spasms! Yikes!

I thanked her for sharing how well the GABA lozenge works for her, saying how happy I am for her! I also let her know that I’d love to share it as a new blog post because it offers so much hope to others (hence this blog).

GABA Calm lozenge and other low GABA symptoms

I assume Ashlee is referring to Source Naturals GABA Calm lozenges which contains 125mg of GABA and is a sublingual lozenge. They do really work this quickly for spasms, pain and anxiety too. GABA always works best when used in a sublingual form like this or when a GABA capsule is opened onto the tongue.

I agree with her – it’s a good plan to keep GABA on hand in case she gets the spasms during the day. I also recommend having GABA next to the bed because it often seems to happen in the middle of the night.

I did ask if using GABA has also helped with easing her other low GABA symptoms. These can include:

  • physical anxiety and overwhelm
  • intrusive thoughts
  • stiff and tense muscles or other muscle spasms/pain
  • insomnia (often the type where you lie awake feeling stiff and tense)
  • stress eating carbs or sugary treats
  • self-medicating with wine or other alcoholic beverages in order to relax and fit in

You can see the entire list of low GABA symptoms here.

(I’ll share an update when I hear back from Ashlee.)

My experience, definition of proctalgia fugax, incidence and overview

I acknowledged her comment about it being very scary the first time it happens. I first blogged about this after it happened to me in 2017 and I figured out GABA worked very quickly for my excruciatingly painful spasms. It was really scary!

You can read about my experience and triggers on this blog: How GABA eases agonizing rectal pain and spasms in under 2 minutes.

The above blog also

  • defines this condition called proctalgia fugax which leads to rectal spasms and sharp fleeting pain in the lower rectum or anus. In some people it can be more than fleeting and is often described as excruciating and agonizing
  • shares how others describe the pain and how common it is (up to 18% of the population, more common in women and affects individuals between 30 and 60 years of age).
  • discusses heating pads as a solution (they also work but can take 20 minutes to take effect and that is simply too long when you are moaning and writhing in pain)
  • mentions medications that are commonly prescribed
  • describes using 30-60 seconds of finger pressure as one possible solution
  • reviews the BEST solution – sublingual GABA. Theanine and taurine can also help

Electrical stimulation of the anorectal muscles or botox – as treatment approaches

When I had first researched this a few years ago, I had not read about “electric shock up the rectum to ease the spasms” that Ashlee mentioned in her comment.  I went looking and found this on Webmd:

For severe proctalgia fugax, electrical stimulation of the anorectal muscles may provide relief. This treatment option involves inserting a small, finger-sized probe into the rectum and using a low voltage current to relax spastic muscles through vibration.

This may be similar to the 30-60 seconds on finger pressure I described but I’ll take the GABA supplement thank you!

This article also mentions botox injections which I am aware is often done. But this opens up another whole can of worms with toxicity issues and the risk of increased panic attacks with botox.

I also share additional information here: How to address rectal spasms with GABA, pelvic floor work, gluten removal and squats

Management of proctalgia fugax remains challenging and treatment outcomes modest at best

A paper, Proctalgia Syndromes: Update in Diagnosis and Management, published June 2020 by gastroenterology departments in Ireland, Romania, Italy and the USA recognizes that “functional anorectal pain syndromes” are complicated and “are a neglected yet often disabling clinical entity resulting in significant economic and psychological burden to the patient.”

They acknowledge that “management of proctalgia fugax remains challenging and treatment outcomes modest at best” and conclude that “further investigation of treatment approaches in proctalgia fugax is required.”

I plan to reach out to the authors and share these wonderful results that individuals are reporting with the use of sublingual GABA. I would also love to get some case studies published so this approach becomes common knowledge.

Resources if you are new to using GABA and the amino acids as supplements

If you are new to using the amino acids GABA and the other amino acids as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low GABA symptoms here) and a brief overview here, Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low GABA or low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acid products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

Have you ever experienced this rectal pain and spasms/proctalgia fugax? Has GABA worked for you? What else has helped?

If GABA helped ease the spasms and pain, how quickly did it work and what product did you use? Did it help with some of the other low GABA symptoms too?

Have you been able to figure out possible triggers or root causes other than low GABA?

If you’re a practitioner, have you seen this with clients or patients and has GABA helped them?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

Increased sociability improves vagus nerve function: the role of social anxiety, pyroluria and low zinc

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increased sociability and vagus nerve

With the objective of taking a deeper dive into some of the favorite topics of the recent Anxiety Summit: Gut-Brain Axis, today’s blog is about the vagus nerve since Dr. Navaz Habib’s interview, Vagus Nerve Activation to Reduce Anxiety, was voted one of the favorites. I’m focusing on one tool that improves vagus nerve function that we didn’t have time to get into in great detail – and that is how increased sociability helps.  It’s all good and well to recommend getting out and hanging out with more people but if you have the social anxiety condition called pyroluria it’s really challenging, hard work and very stressful. Added stress makes pyroluria worse so it becomes a vicious cycle.

Let’s start with the research that supports the connection between the vagus nerve and increased anxiety and mood problems.  In the interview with Dr Navaz, we discussed this paper: Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain–Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders which states that “vagus nerve stimulation is a promising add-on treatment for treatment-refractory depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and inflammatory bowel disease” and how stimulation of vagal fibers that go from the gut to the brain (afferent fibers) influences neurotransmitter production and “play crucial roles in major psychiatric conditions, such as mood and anxiety disorders.”  The gut bacteria play a major role too, “partly by affecting the activity of the vagus nerve.”

In our interview we end with very practical ways to activate your vagus nerve

  • Deep breathing exercises (mentioned in the above paper, together with yoga and meditation) and cold showers (which makes you breathe harder)
  • Gargling and using the gag reflex
  • Humming, chanting and singing (I used these approaches for my vagus nerve issue after my terrifying plane ride. GABA also helped with the voice/throat spasms I experienced – more here on that)
  • Auricular acupuncture (which is also very effective for addictions)
  • And finally, social interaction or increased sociability, which I want to cover today

The research on the vagus nerve and being more social

Let’s look at the research on the vagus nerve or vagal tone and being more social.  This paper, Upward spirals of the heart: autonomic flexibility, as indexed by vagal tone, reciprocally and prospectively predicts positive emotions and social connectedness, reports that that vagal tone and connectedness or being more social is a two-way street i.e. it’s reciprocal

  • “…increases in connectedness and positive emotions predicted increases in vagal tone” and
  • “Adults who possessed higher initial levels of vagal tone increased in connectedness and positive emotions more rapidly than others”

In summary, the more social and happy you are, the healthier your vagus nerve is and a healthier vagus nerve leads to feeling more connected and happy.

This study was done with adults in a community-dwelling setting over 9 weeks: “adults were asked to monitor and report their positive emotions and the degree to which they felt socially connected each day.”

Address pyroluria in those who have social anxiety

Pyroluria, the social anxiety condition, was not part of the study because it’s under-recognized as a factor in anxiety.  I’d like to propose that we address pyroluria in those who have social anxiety in order to further improve social connectedness and their vagus nerve function.

Many folks with pyroluria put on a brave face in social settings and even “extrovert” which is extremely stressful. The added stress makes pyroluria worse (zinc and vitamin B6 are dumped in much higher amounts) so it becomes a vicious cycle.

Others, who are not willing to even show up because of their severe social anxiety, are not getting that social interaction and connectedness that is so crucial for improved vagus nerve function and better overall health.

Here is the pyroluria questionnaire and the pyroluria/introvert connection.

Connecting the dots further we have

By addressing the social anxiety called pyroluria with a foundation of zinc and vitamin B6, we can increase sociability and thereby improve vagus nerve function.

UPDATE 5/7/2020:

Social isolation during the coronavirus pandemic – other vagus nerve exercises

This blog is very applicable now during the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve made an update because I feel we need to start thinking about the longer-term adverse impacts of social isolation and work on other ways to improve vagus nerve function during isolation or quarantine.

This can include any or all of the ways mentioned above: deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, cold showers, gargling/gag reflex, humming/chanting/singing and/or auricular acupuncture.

Do you find you have better vagus nerve function when you are more sociable? What of these vagus nerve exercises have you been doing and found helpful during isolation? Do you have any other favorite approaches like using essential oils or anything else?

Vagus nerve stimulation to treat respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19

This paper reports benefits in 2 patients with coronavirus – Use of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation to treat respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19: A theoretical hypothesis and early clinical experience

  • Both patients reported clinically meaningful benefits from nVNS therapy [non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation].
  • In Case 1, the patient used nVNS to expedite symptomatic recovery at home after hospital discharge and was able to discontinue use of opioid and cough suppressant medications.
  • In Case 2, the patient experienced immediate and consistent relief from symptoms of chest tightness and shortness of breath, as well as an improved ability to clear his lungs.

The authors also share that “vagus nerve stimulation has been demonstrated to block production of cytokines in sepsis and other medical conditions.”

With this virus being novel and with everyone learning we are still appreciative of small case reports like this and hope to see bigger studies done. Until then there is other evidence of the overall importance of the vagus nerve in helping to regulate lung infection and immunity.

The nVNS therapy mentioned in the COVID-19 paper is an external device that delivers “a proprietary signal through the skin to either the right or the left branches of the vagus nerve in the neck.” It’s not something I’ve used personally or had clients use so please share if you’ve had success with this device or a similar device.

Loving social isolation and thriving during coronavirus

On the flip side we also need to consider that there are some individuals who are loving social isolation and thriving emotionally. I share some feedback from folks in my community:

  • Elissa: “As an introvert, my mental health has never been better ☺️. Loving isolation life.”
  • Drew: “Loving it in many ways. Dreading the hedonism starting up again…”
  • Tiffany: “My anxiety levels have decreased and I have decreased my anxiety meds! I think it’s because the demand to produce has decreased. I can actually move at my own speed in this world. I’m fortunate, though. My heart goes out to those people in medical fields. I really miss some things, like time with my dad, but we have made some adjustments, like driveway picnics.”
  • Katie: “I was praying for relief from the busyness. Definitely didn’t have this in mind and my heart hurts for those who are impacted. It has been a beautiful time of rest and restoration for my body and soul.”
  • Wendy: “My life is usually slow paced and introverted. Now it’s more so and I’m finding the less I do in a day, the better I sleep. I’m actually dreading getting back to “normal” with all the pressures put on us by extroverts. Yes I have sympathy for people suffering mentally by isolation, but for the first time I feel like my type of lifestyle is socially acceptable. I’m tired of life expectations being dictated by the extrovert half of the population.”

I appreciate these folks for sharing their valuable perspectives about thriving in these times. It reinforces how unique we all are.

If you’re struggling with social isolation…

  • How are you feeling and what are you most looking forward to doing once social isolation recommendations are relaxed?
  • I’m guessing you don’t have pyroluria but please share if you do?

If you are thriving in social isolation…

  • Would you consider yourself an introvert /a contented introvert?
  • Have you got pyroluria and has addressing it nutritionally in the past allowed you to be more sociable or at least less anxious when you are in crowds?
  • How are you feeling during social isolation and what do you love the most right now?
  • What are you not looking forward to once social isolation recommendations are relaxed?
  • And how do you plan to go back to the old “normal” or don’t you?

Please comment below and let us know where you are with social isolation during this pandemic – struggling or thriving? And what vagus nerve exercises are you using right now? Have you used an external device with success?

Vagus nerve rehab with GABA, breathing, humming, gargling and key nutrients

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I’ve got an issue going on with my vagus nerve at the moment and the throat spasms have been affecting my voice and ability to speak for any length of time. It’s also causing this persistent dry cough, despite not feeling sick or having any respiratory symptoms. It’s much worse later in the day and gets particularly bad after about 30 minutes of talking.

I’ve been working with the very talented PT/nutritionist Joe Tatta for the last week and I am seeing much improvement already. I’m also learning so much on vagus nerve rehab.

Joe is a Musculoskeletal Pain Expert and you may recall our wonderful interview on the last Anxiety Summit on pain and anxiety.

Let me give you some of the back story. Just over a week ago I posted this message in a private facebook group of integrative practitioners/colleagues:

I’d love some help for me please. I have this ongoing spasmodic dry cough that starts as soon as I talk and gets worse later in the day. As you can imagine it’s affecting my day to day meetings, seeing clients and doing interviews, not to mention being highly irritating!

I don’t feel sick at all and have no congestion. It started after my NYC trip and a really frightening flight over the Colorado mountains!

We had the most awful turbulence and it felt like wings on the plane were going to break. People were screaming and the parents behind us were reassuring their kids saying it’s ok, it’s just like a roller coaster ride. I was sitting next to a 6’4’’ young man who had just completed training in the Coast Guard. He was also terrified and said they had taught him how to survive a boat going down but not how to survive a plane going down.

I believe my immune system got suppressed big time! The day after I got home I got the flu for the first time in 30+ years and I felt pretty grim for a day and then recovered nicely over the next 4-5 days. The flu was over 10 days ago but this stupid cough continues!

One night I could not sleep due to the coughing and decided to try and relax my airways with GABA. I know how effective GABA is for stiff and tense muscles so why not try it for the throat spasms I was having? I am now able to have a reasonable conversation for say 15-30 mins if I take 500mg GABA opened on to my tongue. Viola! a new use for GABA – pretty cool!

I must be low in GABA because I’m able to take upwards of 5 (and sometime more) doses of 500mg a day and not feel too wiped out. That’s a lot of GABA for me – 125mg to 250mg used to be enough for the anxiety I once experienced! I did have a bit of my old early morning waking with anxiety (that I used to have in my late 30s) that week of the flu but that’s now gone.

I’m also using a homeopathic called Boiron Drosera. I’ve never had asthma and don’t have much experience with it but from what I’m reading it sounds like the“cough-variant” of asthma!?

I’m asking here because I’m intrigued by this whole scary flight/depressed immunity/GABA for the spasms thing and wonder if anyone here has any insights?

Joe Tatta responded in about 30 minutes with this message:

Sounds like you have a vagus nerve problem. Potentially loss of parasympathetics. You can read some in this article but there is much more…

Here is the article he shared: Arnold’s nerve cough reflex: evidence for chronic cough as a sensory vagal neuropathy

Arnold’s nerve ear-cough reflex is recognised to occur uncommonly in patients with chronic cough. In these patients, mechanical stimulation of the external auditory meatus can activate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (Arnold’s nerve) and evoke reflex cough. This is an example of hypersensitivity of vagal afferent nerves, and there is now an increasing recognition that many cases of refractory or idiopathic cough may be due to a sensory neuropathy of the vagus nerve.

The paper presents two cases where the cough was successfully treated with gabapentin. Gabapentin (also known as Neurontin) affects GABA levels and this why I get such great results with GABA.

Gabapentin is drug that is primarily used to treat seizures and neuropathic pain. It is also used for restless leg syndrome and hot flashes, and off-label for anxiety, insomnia, fibromyalgia and bipolar disorder. I’d love to see GABA being studied and used for these conditions especially because gabapentin can cause withdrawal syndrome: Withdrawal symptoms after gabapentin discontinuation and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts.

Joe offered to meet with me via skype and I learned that the neuro-rehab is key. I’ve been doing breathing exercises and humming every hour on the hour for the last week i.e. about 10 times a day. When I hum it’s the “happy birthday” song and I have to think of a specific birthday. I hum and smile and think about my baby sister’s 7th birthday party 37 years ago. I had just come back from Australia and I have such great memories of it! We chatted about it at the weekend and had a good laugh.

I continue to use the GABA as needed, and am also taking GPC (GlyceroPhosphoCholine) and Acetyl-L-carnitine, both of which are acetylcholine precursors for nerve rehabilitation.

Because I’ve had so many questions about what is going on with me and what I’m doing, I have decided to start this blog post and I’ll continue to add to it. I’ve been documenting what has been happening as I go through this rehab because I’m finding it so fascinating.

Stay tuned for all the details:

  • More on the vagus nerve and why it’s so important
  • Why the very scary plane ride triggered this issue I’m having
  • How GABA works to stop the spasms in 5-10 seconds (I have a video to share)
  • Exactly what exercises I’m doing for the rehab and why you need to build up and not do gargling exercises on day one
  • More details about the nutrients: GPC and acetyl-l-carnitine
  • And an interview with Joe Tatta to share his expertise (I’m the patient/client here and am in learning mode)

I wouldn’t suggest trying any of this yourself until I share more because from what I’ve learned so far, you need to slowly built up to certain of the exercises.

Updates 4/1/16:

Here is the first video (taken 3/16/16) where I share the story of the scary plane ride and my flu and the start of the throat spasms.  You can hear how my voice sounds and how quickly 500mg GABA relaxes the spasms in my throat/neck.  I share what I learned from Joe Tatta about it being connected the vagus nerve.

 

Here is the second video (also taken 3/16/16) where I demonstrate the 3-6-6 second breathing exercise and the happy birthday song humming exercise. I have to think of an actual birthday. I hum and think of my baby sister’s birthday (you can see those photos above).  Be warned, I am what I call “musically challenged!”

Here is the third video (taken late evening 3/16/16) where you can hear how bad my voice and throat gets later in the day.

 

Here is the video taken at Heavenly ski resort on 3/27/16.  You can see me doing my humming exercises in between skiing on this beautiful mountain and how I needed GABA after a strenuous ski run.  And I summarize what has been working for me so far.  I hope you enjoy the stunning scenery too!  I feel so fortunate that we can hop in the car and visit such an amazing place like this on the weekend! It’s about 90 minutes up the hill from where we live.

 

And here is the final video in this series (taken yesterday 3/31/16). I demonstrate the exercises I am currently doing: 3-6-6 second breathing, humming (which has improved), the yawning and the tongue massage of the roof of my mouth.  I also talk about GPC and acetyl-l-carnitine.

 

You can probably see and hear that I am much improved and have not needed much GABA for the last two days now.  In the last week I have interviewed Dr. Josh Axe for his “Eat Dirt” book and Dr. Kelly Brogan for her “A Mind of Your Own” book.  And Dr. David Brady has interviewed me for his Fibrofix Summit and Dr. Eric Zielinski interviewed me for his Essential Oils Summit.  For each interview I did my exercises right beforehand and took 500mg GABA half way through the interview and had immediate relief.

GABA for vagus nerve
I had 2 x 500mg GABA on hand for my interviews – opened and ready to use!

Update: 4/8/16

I continue to improve and have not needed GABA for 4 days and only have a very mild hint of the throat feeling late evening.

Two days ago I added an essential oil called Parasympathetic. It contains clove and lemon and I’ll share more in a future post.  Right now I can share that I used too much the first day and had the very dry mouth I experienced with too much GPC and acetyl-l-carnitine.

Update: 4/22/16

A quick update to let you know that my dry spasmodic cough has completely gone.  I  have not had any symptoms for a week and I have stopped the vagus nerve rehab exercises, GPC,  acetyl-l-carnitine, the essential oil called Parasympathetic and GABA.

I so appreciate all the caring and concerned comments, feedback and ideas for me!  And boy, am I grateful for Joe and his expertise!

I will still be interviewing Joe so he can share the theory and address questions so please post questions you may have.

If any of this resonates with you or if you have any other questions I’d love to hear back from you.

Please post them in the comments section below.